Non-magnetic Stern-Gerlach Experiment from Electron Diffraction

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a non-magnetic Stern-Gerlach-like experiment using electron diffraction in a spin-orbit coupled system, generating and controlling transverse spin currents with potential for spintronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to produce and manipulate spin currents via electron diffraction, mimicking a non-magnetic Stern-Gerlach experiment.

Findings

Transverse spin current generated by electron diffraction.

Out-of-plane spin component up to 0.42 ħ.

Spin direction controlled by gate voltage.

Abstract

Using the wave nature of the electrons, we demonstrate that a transverse spin current can be generated simply by the diffraction through a single slit in the spin-orbital coupling system of the two-dimensional electron gas. The diffracted electron picks up the transverse momentum. The up spin electron goes one way and the down spin electron goes the other, producing the coherent spin current. In the system of spin-orbital coupling $\sim10^{-13}$ eV$\cdot$m, the \emph{out-of-plane} component of the spin of the electron can be generated up to 0.42 $\hbar$. Based on this effect, a novel device of grating to distill spin is designed. Two first diffraction peaks of electron carry different spins, duplicating the non-magnetic version of Stern-Gerlach experiment. The direction of the spin current can be controlled by the gate voltage with low energy cost.